ARTICLES ABOUT COLD CASE BY DATE - PAGE 2

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Detectives are looking at the possible role of the Manson Family in a dozen unsolved killings from four decades ago, and believe old audio tapes from a bankruptcy case hold a key to the cold cases, a police official said. The so-called Manson Family cult, a collection of runaways and outcasts known for their high-profile spree of at least nine killings in 1969, was brought together by a charismatic ex-convict, Charles Manson. The 12 unsolved killings police are looking into had "similar circumstances, the same time period" as those committed by Manson's followers, Los Angeles police spokesman Commander Andrew Smith said.

A Chicago man in federal prison for drug conspiracy has been charged in a “cold case” home invasion and slaying on the city's Northwest Side after his DNA matched blood found at the scene, prosecutors said today. Adalberto Santiago, 46, was charged with the murder of Ramon Torres, 41, a contractor who was found shot and stabbed in his bathtub in February 2001. Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. denied bail for Santiago. Prosecutors said Santiago and another man kicked in the front door of Torres' home in the 2500 block of North Drake Avenue, shot him once and then dragged him to a bathroom.

The judge had not yet finished announcing that Jack McCullough was guilty of murder Friday when a packed courtroom in DeKalb County, sensing what the verdict would be, erupted in emotion that was part relief, part joy and more than half a century in the making. Judge James Hallock banged his gavel to restore order and threatened to clear the courtroom. A few moments later he completed the task of pronouncing McCullough guilty of the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph, who disappeared from Sycamore on a cold December evening in 1957.

"Cold Case" star Kathryn Morris is set to star in the indie romantic comedy "Confections of a Discarded Woman," which the Motion Picture Corp. of America is producing. Michael Damian ("Flicka 2") is directing from a script he co-wrote with Janeen Damian. Duo will produce with MPCA topper Brad Krevoy, who exec produced Damian's 2007 pic "Moondance Alexander." Morris will play a pampered Manhattan housewife who has it all until her husband unexpectedly dumps her for his acupuncturist.

Romeoville police have reopened an investigation into the 1980 murder of a resident who was chased down and stabbed to death on Fenton Avenue, authorities said this afternoon. Asst. Chief Steven Lucchesi said a person came into the station about a month ago with information about the murder of Robert B. Taylor, 22. “Based on what he told us, we're going to reopen the case,” he said, declining to comment on what motivated the man to speak with police. On April 20, 1980, Taylor was chased by two individuals who took him to the ground and stabbed him in the 500 block of Fenton Avenue at around 9:40 p.m., Lucchesi said.

A family came home Christmas night to find someone had swiped their beloved inflatable penguin - right from their doorstep in west suburban Montgomery. Kim Mattern said the “fat little penguin" stands about 6-feet-tall and 4-feet-wide and stood outside next to the front door as part of the family's holiday decorations. She, her husband Joshua and their two kids left their home at in the 0-99 block of Woodcliff Road in Montgomery about 1 p.m. Sunday to attend a family holiday party.

A judge Wednesday quashed an attempt by DeKalb County prosecutors to obtain the notes of journalists who interviewed a former Sycamore resident charged in the 1957 killing of a young girl. Judge Robbin Stuckert set aside subpoenas that prosecutors served on the Chicago Tribune and the Associated Press. Both news organizations had published interviews with Jack McCullough, a Washington state resident charged this year with the 1957 murder of Maria Ridulph, 7, of Sycamore. McCullough had granted jailhouse interviews in Washington before he was extradited to Illinois, and prosecutors issued subpoenas to force the reporters to surrender their notes.

A Seattle man charged with kidnapping and murdering a Sycamore girl more than five decades ago has been indicted for the rape of a teenage girl, authorities said Friday. Jack Daniel McCullough, 71, is in the DeKalb County Jail awaiting trial for the December 1957 abduction and slaying of 7-year-old Maria Ridulph. During their investigation of that case, prosecutors and Illinois State Police investigators learned that McCullough allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl in Sycamore, according to a news release from the Illinois State Police.

It's been more than three years, but the family of Melissa Lech is still hoping authorities find the person responsible for the hit-and-run death of the 20-year-old University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student. "I just hope that maybe after three years, that person or someone who saw something will look deep into their heart and think it's time to solve that mystery, to give the answer, to tell the truth," said Melissa's mother, Maria Lech. Police have no leads or clues to the Aug. 6, 2008, hit-and-run inJoliet, but on Saturday NASCAR driver Kevin Conway will help bring attention back to the case.